Best of The Gazette: Milton marchers, downtown revival and the dangers of heroin

Cassie Howard plays her flute at a chili supper before the Milton homecoming game Oct. 4. The Milton High School marching band is the only such band in Rock County involved in competitive field marching at the state level.

The Gazette publishes a lot of news in a week. Combine that with all the distractions a weekend brings, and that means there's a good chance you might have missed some important stories. Here's a summary of some of The Gazette's best content from the last seven days:

NEWS

The table is set: Rock County 5.0 leaders look back, forward

Rock County 5.0 is four years into its mission of promoting local business opportunities and cooperation in the community. Whether it continues beyond next year is yet to be determined. Co-chair Mary Willmer hopes that in another five years, no one will be thinking about Rock County 5.0 because the economy is thriving.

Turner High marks 50 years

It was a tense time in the early 1960s when rural town of Beloit residents decided to tax themselves to build a high school. Fifty years later, F.J. Turner High School is going strong, although the politics of building schools has not gone away. The school has become a community focus, as was evidenced by the hundreds who attended the athletic booster club's annual pancake breakfast fundraiser Sunday.

SPORTS

A Q&A with Parker great Mistie Bass

Janesville Parker High School's Mistie Bass was a standout basketball player who led the Vikings to two state championships in 2000 and 2001. Now in the WNBA, the star hopes to achieve a lifelong dream in 2016: playing in the Olympics. Sports reporter John Barry chatted with her last week about her success at Parker, her WNBA career and her future ambitions.

Janesville sits in the Big Eight's shadows

Madison-area schools have long been in control of the Big Eight Conference in sports such as tennis and swim. Janesville has had a number of great athletes in those sports, but no championship teams. So what's the main reason behind the uneven playing field? The biggest culprit is club players, or—in Janesville's case—the lack thereof.

OPINION

Our Views: Reward them, and people will walk

People such as Public Works Director Carl Weber see grand things in downtown Janesville's future. Weber is convinced that a vibrant downtown will attract people and that they will be willing to walk a few blocks to get to their destinations. The Gazette Editorial Board agrees, but that downtown vibrancy won't come overnight. Several critical steps must be completed to ensure success.

Our Views: Public needs education about dangers of heroin

Heroin is spreading rapidly in Wisconsin. And more young people are becoming heroin addicts after starting with readily available prescription drugs such as oxycodone. Without more education about the dangers of the highly-addictive drug, rates will continue to rise, The Gazette Editorial Board writes.

Ten years ago, Todd Bucher made his wildest dream a reality. He dropped a refurbished 1940 Silk City diner among the birches and pines of Wisconsin's far north woods. Bucher's iconic Delta Diner now draws clientele from hundreds of miles in all directions. “I could not let Delta die,” Bucher said while pressing a thick patty of ground steak against the sizzling grill.

BLOGS

Janesville's underworld: Elaborate graffiti along Rock River

Video blogger Glen Loyd spends a lot of time along the Rock River. In one recent trip, he uncovered a miniature underworld at Center Street and the Rock River in Janesville: an elaborate (and illegal) cityscape depicted in spray paint.

What is a master gardener?

Though many people have heard of Master Gardeners, few know exactly what they are. But the answer is less complicated than you might think, blogger Janice Peterson writes. The story starts in Washington state in 1972.

MULTIMEDIA

VIDEO: Milton marching band takes field with brass, not helmet and pads